Methods and apparatus for cochlear implant signal processing

ABSTRACT

A cochlear implant processing strategy increases speech clarity and provides higher temporal performance. The strategy determines the power spectral component within each channel, and dynamically selects or de-selects the channels through which a stimulation pulse is provided as a function of whether the spectral power of the channel is high or low. “High” and “low” are estimated relative to a selected spectral power, for example. The selected spectral power can be estimated by signal average or mean, or by other criteria. Once a selection of the channels to stimulate has been made, the system can decide that only those channels are stimulated, and stimulation is removed from the other channels. The selected channels are the ones on which the spectral power is above the mean of all the available channels. Fewer channels are stimulated at any time and the contrast of the stimulation is enhanced. Also, the temporal resolution increases as the number of channels that must be stimulated on a given frame decreases. This way, the channels which are presented to the patient are fewer in number and contain more temporal information.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a Non-Provisional Application of Provisional Application No. 60/559,296, filed Apr. 2, 2004.

FIELD OF THE INVENTIONS

The present inventions relate to cochlear implant systems and methods, for example cochlear implant signal processing methods and apparatus, and speech processing and stimulation strategies used by such cochlear implant systems.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONS

Cochlear implant systems provide the sensation of sound to those who are profoundly deaf. Unfortunately, the clarity of the sound that is perceived is not always as good as desired.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,626,629, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,601,617, both of which patents are incorporated herein by reference, teach or use some speech processing and stimulation strategies that may be used by a cochlear implant system, such as the CLARION or C-II cochlear stimulation systems available from Advanced Bionics Corporation, of Sylmar, Calif. One common speech processing strategy used in the prior art is a simultaneous analog stimulation (SAS) strategy, wherein more than one channel may provide stimulation at the same time. Another common speech processing strategy used and known in the art is continuous interleaved sampling (CIS) strategy. U.S. Pat. No. 6,289,247, also incorporated herein by reference, teaches other types of speech processing and stimulation strategies that may be used by a cochlear implant system. U.S. Pat. No. 5,597,380, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,271,397 are likewise incorporated herein by reference.

SUMMARY

Dynamic selection of the number of channels to stimulate can provide greater sound clarity. Once a selection of the channels to stimulate has been made, stimulation can be removed from the other channels. Stimulation can be applied to the selected channels only, if desired.

In one configuration, the selected channels are the ones on which the spectral power is above the mean of all the available channels. In this example, few channels get stimulated at any one time for a given frame, and the contrast of the stimulation is enhanced. The contrast is improved further because the perceived loudness on the fewer number of channels will increase due to faster presentation rate. Also, the temporal resolution will increase as the number of stimulated channels is decreased.

Further, because the selected channels are the ones on which the spectral power is above a threshold, e.g., above the mean, or above the average, or above some other measure of the spectral power on all of the channels, the selection of channels often is not static. Rather, the selection can be dynamic based on the spectral power in the channels.

One configuration of a stimulation system applies stimulation to the areas of the cochlea which correspond in the desired way to spectral power, such as the selected spectral power. Stimulation may be removed from all other locations along the cochlea corresponding to channels having a low spectral power, for example below the selected spectral power.

Cochlear implants having one or more of the characteristics described above may offer increased speech clarity and higher temporal performance. They may also offer increased speech clarity without consuming excessive power.

The present invention advantageously provides an increase in perceived SNR (signal-to-noise ratio) by removing stimulation from low power channels. Further, the invention provides an increase in spectral contrast since fewer channels receive a higher pulse rate. Additionally, the invention provides an increase in temporal resolution since the integration frame is shorter for a smaller number of channels.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects of the present inventions will be more apparent from the following more particular description thereof, presented in conjunction with the following drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a cochlear stimulation system;

FIG. 2 shows a typical biphasic stimulation waveform generated by an implantable cochlear stimulator (ICS);

FIG. 3 illustrates the signal flow through a cochlear stimulation system in accordance with the present inventions; and

FIG. 3A is a schematic of a processor assembly used on a platform for the stimulation system.

FIG. 4 depicts an illustration of how the present inventions may process signals to provide stimulation only on those channels of high spectral power.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding components throughout the several views of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is of the best mode presently contemplated for carrying out one or more aspects of the present inventions. This description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of describing the general principles of the invention. The scope of the invention should be determined with reference to the claims.

In one exemplary apparatus and methods, improved speech clarity can be achieved by only stimulating the locations of the cochlea which correspond to high spectral power, namely spectral power above a defined spectral power. Additionally, stimulation can be removed from all other locations along the cochlea with low spectral power, namely spectral power below the selected spectral power. “Low spectral power” and “High spectral power” are defined here as being that spectral power that is below and above the selected spectral power, respectively. In one aspect of the inventions, the selected spectral power is estimated by the signal average. In the examples described herein, the “signal average” is the sum of the channel signals divided by the total number of channels.

A representative cochlear stimulation system with which the present invention may be used is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,726, which patent is incorporated herein by reference. Other cochlear stimulation systems with which the present invention may be used are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,308,101; 6,219,580; and 6,272,382; which patents are also incorporated herein by reference.

FIG. 1 shows a typical cochlear stimulation system 10 comprising a speech processor portion 12 and a cochlear stimulation portion 14. The cochlear stimulation portion 12 is usually implanted, and includes an implantable cochlear stimulator (ICS) 16 and a cochlear lead 18. The lead 18 includes a multiplicity of electrode contacts thereon (not visible in FIG. 1) through which electrical stimulation pulses, generated by the ICS 16, are applied to selected locations or areas of the cochlea.

The speech processor portion 12 includes a speech processor (SP) 20 and a microphone 22. The microphone 22 may be physically connected to the SP 22, or connected through an appropriate wireless link 21. The microphone 22 senses acoustic sound and transduces it to an electrical signal. The electrical signal from the microphone has different intensities as a function of the loudness of the audio signal that is sensed. The electrical signal from the microphone 22 is then processed by the SP 20 in accordance with a selected speech processing strategy. Based on the type of processing strategy employed, appropriate control signals are generated and sent to the ICS 16 over link 24. The ICS 16 responds to these control signals by generating appropriate stimulation signals that are applied to tissue at various locations along the inside of the cochlea through the electrode contacts located near the distal end of the lead 18.

Typically, the speech processor portion 12 of the cochlear stimulation system 10 is external (not implanted), and the link 24 between the SP 20 and the IPG 16 is a transcutaneous link. However, it is to be understood that parts of the speech processor portion 12 may also be implanted. In a fully-implantable cochlear stimulation system, such as is described in the U.S. Pat. No. 6,308,101, all of the speech processor portion 12 is implanted. When both the SP portion 12 and the cochlear stimulation portion 14 are implanted, the SP 20 and the ICS 16 may reside in respective housings, as shown in FIG. 1, or the circuitry associated with both the SC 20 and the ICS 16 may be combined into a single housing.

A biphasic pulse of the type that is generated by the ICS 16 in response to the control signals received from the SP 20 is shown in FIG. 2. In general, the amplitude and/or pulse width (PW) of the pulses may be varied to adjust the magnitude of the stimulus. Also, the frequency, or stimulation rate, at which the pulses are generated may be controlled, as needed.

A preferred platform for launching the present invention is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,219,580, previously incorporated herein by reference. Some features associated with that platform are shown in the signal flow diagram of FIG. 3. Additionally, a schematic of a processor assembly used on the platform is shown in FIG. 3A, showing a physical partitioning of the ICS2 portion of the platform described and illustrated in FIG. 14 of U.S. Pat. No. 6,219,580. The ICS2 consists of electronic circuitry that fits inside a hermetically sealed, U-shaped ceramic case 300, e.g., of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,991,582, incorporated herein by reference. The package design may be the same as is used by ICS described in the '726 patent, previously referenced. The power and telemetry coils 302, and the back telemetry coil 304, and all circuitry are mounted on a ceramic hybrid 306 inside the case 300. The majority of the circuitry is integrated into custom integrated circuits (ICs). Two IC's are employed—one analog IC 308 and one digital IC 310. Discrete components are used as necessary, e.g. coupling capacitors Cc. Attachment of the circuitry to the sixteen external electrodes and one indifferent (reference) electrode is through a bulkhead connector 312 at one end of the case. (Note that Electrodes are numbered 1 through 16, with 1 the most apical and 16 the most basal.) Provision for an additional indifferent electrode and two stapedius electrodes are also made in the ICs.

As seen in FIG. 3, the signal generated by the microphone 22 is split into frequency bands by a bank of bandpass filters 40-0, 40-1, . . . 40-k connected in parallel. Each bandpass filter 40 receives the microphone signal. Each bandpass filter 40 has a center frequency that allows signal frequencies within a specified band to pass therethrough. The bandpass filter 40-0, for example, allows relatively low frequency signals to pass through. The bandpass filter 40-k, on the other hand, allows only high frequency signals to pass through. The bank of bandpass filters is an example of apparatus that can divide an incoming audio signal into channels.

The signals in each frequency band are then subjected to envelope detectors 50-0, 50-1 . . . 50-k. Each of these envelope detectors 50 senses the spectral power component of the signal in its respective frequency band. This spectral power component is represented in FIG. 3 as the signals E₀, E₁, . . . E_(K). The average of these signals E₀, E₁, . . . E_(K) is dynamically determined. The average of the power of the spectral channels can be determined through appropriate processing carried out on the ICS2 (FIG. 3A). This average allows selection of a selected spectral power, which can then be used to select which of the signals E₀, E₁, . . . E_(K) represents “low” spectral power, and which of the signals represents “high” spectral power. The envelope detector is an example of apparatus that can determine the spectral power of a signal. The selected spectral power is an example of a threshold that can be used to differentiate between high and low spectral power signals, and the threshold can be determined through appropriate processing carried out on the ICS2 (FIG. 3A). A selector circuit 60 allows only those signals having “high” spectral power to be sent on to the ICS for stimulus generation. The channels having “low” spectral power are de-selected, i.e., removed so that stimulation pulses corresponding to the channels having “low” spectral power is effectively turned off. These low spectral power channels will be effectively zero channels, because they will be turned off, or those channels will be set at zero or have no pulses applied for those channels. The selector circuit 60 is an example of an apparatus for selecting channels having spectral power above a threshold value. The selector circuit can be implemented in the ICS2 (FIG. 3A).

Further, the signals of “high” spectral power that pass through the selector circuit 60 are sequenced using sequencer 64 so that the stimuli generated by the ICS 16 are applied sequentially only on the non-zero (spectral power) channels. Acoustic-to-electrical mapping of the signals is further carried out with mapping circuits 70-0, 70-1, . . . 70-k, which mapping further conditions the signals that are applied to the electrodes on the lead 18. A biphasic stimulus pulse is then applied on the non-zero channels in sequence as controlled by the sequencer 64 and as conditioned by appropriate mapping circuits 70. The mapping circuits are an example of an apparatus for sequentially applying electrical stimuli only to the electrodes of channels having a spectral power above a threshold value.

Because the spectral power in each channel changes dynamically as a function of the acoustic signals sensed through the microphone 22, the non-zero channels through which a stimulus, or stimuli, are applied also changes dynamically. However, for any cycle of the sequencer 64, there will be some zero channels on which no stimulus will be provided, and some non-zero channels on which a biphasic stimulus pulse is applied. The biphasic stimulus provides a loudness associated with the various parameters of the stimulation pulse train, such as the amplitude, pulse width of the pulses, and the time between pulses. The perceived loudness on a given channel is referred to as intensity. Intensity is controlled by the spectral power of that channel. The intensity in some applications will be the combination of the amplitude and the pulse width and number of pulses per unit time, but it should be understood that intensity for purposes of the present discussion may be manifested in other ways, for example amplitude only with relatively constant pulse width, or pulse width with relatively constant amplitude. For the example illustrated in FIG. 3, the spectral power is non-zero only in the 0th channel and the kth channel. All of the other channels are zero. Thus, a biphasic pulse 72 is applied to electrode 0 on lead 18, and a biphasic pulse 74 is applied to electrode k on the lead 18. Electrode 0, corresponding to channel 0, which represents the channel having the lowest frequency components, is located distally near the end of the lead 18 so that when the lead is inserted into the cochlea this electrode 0 is close to those nerve cells deep in the cochlea that recognize lower frequency signals. Electrode k, corresponding to channel k, which represents a channel having higher frequency components, is located more proximally on the lead 18 so that when the lead is inserted into the cochlea this electrode k is close to those nerve cells closer to the entrance of the cochlea that recognize higher frequency signals.

The operation of the invention is depicted in signal processing illustration of FIG. 4. Note that FIG. 4 is divided into five rows, labeled (A), (B), (C), (D), and (E). Each row represents a different example of a signal processing condition.

In row (A) of FIG. 4, the speech power spectrum has peaks at about 800 and 2500 Hz, as seen in the Speech Power Spectrum graph 80A. However, these peaks are not sharp peaks, meaning that the spectral power is spread over many of the channels. This creates a power spectral spread in each of eight channels as illustrated in “Envelope Output” chart 82A. This is basically a chart of the signals E₀, E_(K), (see FIG. 3), where k=8 in this example. The average of these signals E₀, E₁, . . . E_(K) is determined and is used as a threshold. The average is taken as equal to Sum(Ej)/K, where Sum is the conventional sum of elements (Ej), “j” is the channel number, and “K” is the total number of channels, or “k” in this example, where k=8. This threshold, or “threshold value” 83A, is then used as the selected spectral power, and used to identify those channels above the threshold value and those channels below the threshold value. For the example of this row (A), five of the eight channels—channels 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6—have spectral power signals above the threshold 83A. Hence, these five channels are selected, as seen in the Dynamic Peak Selection Output chart 88A, and biphasic pulses are applied sequentially to these five channels, as illustrated in the Stimulation Pattern chart 90A.

The speech power spectrum in rows (B), (C), (D) and (E) of FIG. 4 shows that the spectral peaks, all of which are at approximately 800 and 2500 Hz, become increasingly sharper. Thus, for example, in Row (E), only two of the eight channels—channels 3 and 6—have spectral power above the average 83E. Hence, only these two channels are selected, as seen in the Dynamic Peak Selection Output chart 88(E), and biphasic pulses are applied sequentially to just these two channels, as illustrated in the Stimulation Pattern chart 90(E). Note also the rate at which the pulses are applied to these two channels is faster than the rate would be if more channels were selected. This increases the temporal resolution for the stimulated channels since the time between stimuli is shorter. Thus, in general, the temporal resolution increases since the integration frame is shorter for a smaller numbers of channels.

Thus, it is seen that in operation for one aspect of the present signal processing method, the speech processing strategy operates by splitting the incoming signal (obtained from the microphone 22, or equivalent) into k frequency bands or channels. The spectral power component of the signal present in each frequency band is determined. The average (or mean, or other suitable collective measure) of these spectral power components, E₀, E₁, . . . E_(K), is determined and is used as a threshold value. Only those channels having a spectral power component above the threshold value is selected for stimulation as a non-zero channel. The other channels are de-selected, as zero spectral power channels, and no stimulus is applied on these zero channels. The stimuli are then applied sequentially only on the selected channels.

While the mean is one example of a criterion for identifying a selected spectral power to use, for example as a threshold value, other criteria may be used as well. Other examples include other statistical methods, such as using variance to determine a threshold value or a combination of the average and variance to determine a threshold value. Other examples include using a weighted average, such as where the weight may be dynamically assigned or where it is assigned as a function of known speech spectra. Dynamic assignment of a weighting factor may include weighting based on relative or absolute amplitude, based on noise level as may be determined dynamically, for example, or other weighting methods. Additionally, weighting may be applied to incoming signals before they are analyzed or they may be applied to the threshold value or other determinant before calculating which channels will be non-zero and which will be assigned zero values. Other examples for identifying a spectral power to use include identification of the median, or identification of the median with a weight factor applied. Therefore, identification of the selected spectral power may be considered to be based on some function, f(E₀, E₁, E₂, E₃, . . . E_(K)), hereafter f(E), as desired, which function is then used to select the non-zero channels. The function may also be a function of time, which will be designated as f(Et), indicating that the function is based preferably on both the spectral power but also on time “t”. The function f(E) will be used when indicating that the spectral power is based on the channel energies regardless of any dependence on time.

The function f(Et) can be used or applied dynamically, as a function of on-going speech patterns, and need not be static for a given time period or static for a given user. For example, the mean in the example discussed herein can be determined for the channels on a frame-by-frame basis or on some other basis selected by the designer or technician. The mean (or other criterion) can be determined at regular intervals, or when a selected event occurs, such as when signal levels rise or fall beyond a set level. For present purposes, using a function to select a selected spectral power, different than a previously selected spectral power, more than once during the lifetime of the device will be considered dynamically determining the selected spectral power. Therefore, “t” in f(Et) can be as large as the device lifetime, and as small as a frame or less. Additionally, the number of channels selected for stimulation can be varied. The selection criteria may be the same as described herein, for example, and such selection will allow the number of channels that are stimulated to be changed as a function of time as well. Therefore, the number of channels for stimulation may be selected. At a later time, one or more channel signals may be evaluated, such as by applying a suitable function to the spectral power values for the channel (or each channel desired), and thereafter identifying those channels with spectral power values that exceed a selected value. The number of channels may then be increased or decreased as desired. The number of channels may be decreased or increased dynamically based on the desired criteria or criterion.

Advantageously, the present apparatus and methods can be used to increase the perceived signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) because the stimulation from the low spectral power channels can be identified and removed. Moreover, the spectral contrast increases since fewer channels receive a higher pulse rate. Additionally, the temporal resolution increases since the integration frame can be made shorter for smaller number of channels. As a further advantage, the power consumption of the cochlear stimulation system can be less than when using simultaneous speech processing strategies, such as SAS.

Because the present invention may operate using less power than an SAS strategy, SAS users who choose the present strategy would have the option of using a behind-the-ear (BTE) speech processor, which consumes less power than the body-worn speech processors.

While the invention herein disclosed has been described by means of specific embodiments and applications thereof, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention set forth in the claims. 

1. A method for stimulating the cochlea comprising: dividing an incoming audio signal into channels, each channel having a frequency band associated therewith, and each channel having at least one electrode associated therewith through which electrical stimuli is adapted to be applied to surrounding cochlea tissue; determining the spectral power of the incoming audio signal in each channel; estimating an average spectral power of all of the channels; dynamically setting a threshold value derived from the estimated average spectral power of all the channels; and sequentially applying electrical stimuli sufficient to generate appropriate stimulation signals for application to tissue inside of a cochlea only to the electrodes of those channels that have spectral power above the threshold.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein dividing the incoming audio signal into channels comprises subjecting the incoming audio signal to a bank of bandpass filters, each bandpass filter having a center frequency that differs from the center frequency of the other channels.
 3. The method of claim 2 wherein determining the spectral power in each channel comprises subjecting the incoming audio signal passing through each channel to an envelope detector.
 4. The method of claim 3 wherein subjecting the signal of each channel to an envelope detector comprises passing the incoming audio signal of each channel through a low pass filter.
 5. The method of claim 3 further including adjusting the magnitude of the stimulus applied to each electrode of a given channel as a function of the intensity of the spectral power within the given channel.
 6. The method of claim 3 wherein the electrical stimuli applied to the electrodes of those channels having spectral power above the threshold comprises biphasic stimulation pulses.
 7. A speech processing strategy for use within the speech processor portion of a cochlear stimulation system, comprising: means for dividing an incoming audio signal into channels, each channel having a separate frequency band associated therewith, and each channel having at least one electrode associated therewith through which electrical stimuli is adapted to be applied to surrounding cochlear tissue; means for determining the spectral power of the signal in each channel; means for estimating the average spectral power of all of the channels; means for dynamically setting a threshold value derived from the average spectral power of all the channels; and means for sequentially applying electrical stimuli only to the electrodes of those channels that have spectral power above the threshold value, and applying no electrical stimuli to the electrodes of those channels having spectral power below the threshold value.
 8. The speech processing strategy of claim 7 wherein the means for dividing the incoming audio signal into channels comprises a bank of bandpass filters, each adapted to receive the incoming audio signal, and each having a different center frequency associated therewith.
 9. The speech processing strategy of claim 8 wherein the means for determining the spectral power of the signal in each channel comprises an envelope detector that acts upon the signal in each channel to generate a power spectral signal E_(K), where there are K channels, and wherein the power spectral signals for all of the channels comprise respective signals E₀, E₁, . . . E_(K) for each of the K channels.
 10. The speech processing strategy of claim 9 wherein the means for estimating the average spectral power of all of the channels comprises means for processing the signals E₀, E₁, . . . E_(K) to arrive at a mean spectral power signal for all of the channels.
 11. The speech processing strategy of claim 10 wherein the means for dynamically setting the threshold value comprises means for setting the threshold value to be equal to the mean spectral power signal.
 12. The speech processing strategy of claim 10 wherein the means for dynamically setting the threshold value comprises means for setting the threshold value to be a value derived from the mean spectral power signal.
 13. The speech processing strategy of claim 10 wherein the means for sequentially applying electrical stimuli only to the electrodes of those channels that have spectral power above the threshold, and applying no electrical stimuli to the electrodes of those channels having spectral power below the threshold comprises a selector circuit that includes means for dynamically comparing the spectral power of a given channel with the threshold value, and selector means for selecting those channels having spectral power above the threshold value for further processing; and de-selecting those channels having spectral power below the threshold value, whereby only the selected channels apply electrical stimuli to their corresponding electrode. 